The Way Back
by ROSSELLA1
Summary: Spoilers for Lamia. The Knights are acting odd on the way back to Camelot.


The Way Back

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Merlin, Arthurian Mythology, or any of their characters.

"Merlin!"

"Yes?" Merlin tossed over his shoulder, as he scrubbed at the pot.

The knights, Gaius, and Merlin had stayed in the village for three days after the attacks; partly so that the knights could recuperate and partly so that Gaius could tend to the surviving villagers. But now, at long last, they were on their way back to Camelot and Merlin had his old duties to attend to.

"Here." Percival answered, coming up behind him. "Let me get those." He grabbed the pot and rag from Merlin's hands.

"Oh no, that's okay." Merlin smiled, trying to pull it back.

"No!" Percival snapped, causing Merlin to flinch away. The Knight softened his face with a smile and patted the servant on the shoulder. "Why don't you just relax? It's such a nice day."

"Er… alright." The sorcerer frowned in confusion. "Thank you…"

Percival smiled at him and went about cleaning the dishes with great fervor. Shrugging, Merlin turned and walked away. It wasn't like Percival…or any of the knights for that matter, to help him with his chores. Oh, well. Merlin wasn't about to complain. The sorcerer smiled. With Percival doing the dishes, all Merlin had left to do was to gather spare firewood for the night and make sure that everything was packed up for the morning. If he hurried, he could be done before dark and turn in early! Merlin started to jog off into the woods only to run straight into a large hard object. He stumbled backwards but was grabbed by the shoulders before he could hit the ground. He blinked up to see Sir Leon leaning over him.

"Sorry about that, Merlin." Leon chuckled. "Should watch where I'm going."

"That's…okay…" Merlin said, rubbing his head. "I was just going to get some firewood."

"Oh! Let me do that for you!" Sir Leon set him back on his feet and before Merlin could respond, Leon set off.

"Heh…" Merlin scratched his head, staring after the other man. First Percival and now Leon… he'd have to ask Gaius if it was normal for the survivors of a lamia to be uncharacteristically helpful.

"Merlin!" The sorcerer glanced over to the campfire where Gawain and Elyan were sitting. "Over here, buddy!"

Merlin approached them and plopped down. "Hey."

"Hey, look what we got!" Gawain whispered drawing a small canteen from his bag.

"Water?" The manservant raised an eyebrow.

Elyan and Gawain chuckled, shaking their heads. "Taste." Gawain urged, shoving the canteen into Merlin's hand.

Warily, Merlin brought it to his lips and took a sip. "Ale?" He sputtered. "How did-"

"We managed to snag a couple of canteens off of some villagers before we left." Elyan winked. "Come on. Let's drink." He and Gawain produced two more and raised them as if in toast.

"Thank you, but I have to make sure the bags are packed for-"

Elyan raised his hand. "Let me do that. You, just sit and drink." He bounded to his feet and started making the rounds. Merlin's mouth dropped open as he stared after the other man in shock.

"Well, you heard the man." Gawain nudged his friend. "Drink up."

"What's wrong with everybody?" Merlin asked, turning to Gawain.

"What do you mean?"

"All of you…you're being so…so nice!"

Gawain cast his eyes to the dirt. " And we're not allowed to be nice to you?"

"It's not that… it's just…well, first Percival washed the dishes, then Leon gathered firewood, now Elyan's packing up, and he and you are sharing whiskey!"

"Is this a bad thing?" Gawain snickered.

"No!" Merlin exclaimed. "It's just… it's almost as if it was planned…" Realization dawned on the sorcerer and he glanced up at his friend, suspiciously.

Gawain's eyes widened. "Don't be daft, Merlin! Why would we do that?"

Merlin stared at him until the Knight dropped his gaze. "No reason."

…..

Later that night, when everyone was getting ready for bed, Gawain took the other knights aside.

"Merlin suspects something."

"What?" Leon laughed. "Why on Earth would you think that?"

"Because he was talking to me about how it was strange that we all decided to do things for him at once!" Gawain snapped.

"Maybe we should have spread it out over a period of days." Elyan admitted pensively.

"But we should be back at Camelot by tomorrow!" Percival pointed out. "Then our chances would be up. We can't very well step in as the King's manservant."

"Look," Gawain held a hand up to still the conversation, "maybe we should just tell him we're sorry about how we treated him instead of hoping he understands what we're trying to tell him with our actions." The other three stared at him solemnly for a few seconds…and then burst out laughing. "What?" Gawain said in a hurt tone.

"Don't… be… stupid!" Elyan replied in between gasps.

"Yes!" Leon seconded. "Men… don't…talk…about their…feelings!"


End file.
